from Mr Judkin.
'But this cheque is dated in London, and today,' he observed. 'How d'ye
account for that, sir?'

'O, that was a mistake,' said Morris, and a deep tide of colour dyed his
face and neck.

'No doubt, no doubt,' said Mr Judkin, but he looked at his customer
enquiringly.

'And--and--' resumed Morris, 'even if there were no effects--this is a
very trifling sum to overdraw--our firm--the name of Finsbury, is surely
good enough for such a wretched sum as this.'

'No doubt, Mr Finsbury,' returned Mr Judkin; 'and if you insist I will
take it into consideration; but I hardly think--in short, Mr Finsbury,
if there had been nothing else, the signature seems hardly all that we
could wish.'

'That's of no consequence,' replied Morris nervously. 'I'll get my uncle
to sign another. The fact is,' he went on, with a bold stroke, 'my uncle
is so far from well at present that he was unable to sign this cheque
without assistance, and I fear that my holding the pen for him may have
made the difference in the signature.'

Mr Judkin shot a keen glance into Morris's face; and then turned and
looked at Mr Bell.

'Well,' he said, 'it seems as if we had been victimized by a swindler.
Pray tell Mr Finsbury we shall put detectives on at once. As for this
cheque of yours, I regret that, owing to the way it was signed, the
bank can hardly consider it--what shall I say?--businesslike,' and he
returned the cheque across the counter.

Morris took it up mechanically; he was thinking of something very
different.

'In a--case of this kind,' he began, 'I believe the loss falls on us; I
mean upon my uncle and myself.'

'It does not, sir,' replied Mr Bell; 'the bank is responsible, and
the bank will either recover the money or refund it, you may depend on
that.'

Morris's face fell; then it was visited by another gleam of hope.

'I'll tell you what,' he said, 'you leave this entirely in my hands.
I'll sift the matter. I've an idea, at any rate; and detectives,' he
added appealingly, 'are so expensive.'

'The bank would not hear of it,' returned Mr Judkin. 'The bank stands to
lose between three and four thousand pounds; it will spend as much more
if necessary. An undiscovered forger is a permanent danger. We shall
clear it up to the bottom, Mr Finsbury; set your mind at rest on that.'

'Then I'll stand the loss,' said Morris boldly. 'I order you to abandon
the search.' He was determined that no enquiry should be made.

'I be